Maria Mena

Academic Area(s)

• Foundations of Business - First Year Experience (FYE)
• Managerial Analytics

Education

Ph.D. University of Antwerp – Antwerp Management School - In progress

M.B.A. Western University – Richard Ivey School of Business

B.A. University of Windsor – Psychology (Industrial / Organizational)

Biography

Maria has over 25 years of multi-unit operations, analytics, and strategy development and execution experience with mature organizations from Financial Services to Retail to Consumer-Packaged Goods industries. During her career she has worked with some of the most recognized and trusted Canadian organizations; Loblaw Companies Ltd., Hudson’s Bay Company, and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC Financial Group). She developed strategic vendor partnerships with key CPG companies such as Coca Cola, Pepsi Co., Nestle, Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, Kimberly-Clark, Kraft-Heinz, Mondelez and many more.

Prior to joining Virginia Tech full time in December 2022, Maria was teaching for four years with five different post-secondary institutions in Canada. Her courses included Management Information Systems and Data Analytics, Quality Management, Logistics 1, Operations Management, International Business, Business Communications, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Introduction to Management.

Maria holds an M.B.A. in Management and Strategy from the Richard Ivey School of Business from Western University. She completed her B.A. with Honors at the University of Windsor in Psychology with a focus in Industrial and Organizational Behavior and Statistics. Currently, Maria is developing her Ph.D. dissertation through the Antwerp School of Management.  

Maria currently resides in Blacksburg during the school year and in Rocky View County, Alberta, Canada in the summer.

Industry and Career Experience and Practice

Strategy, Business Transformation (Mature Organizations and Insolvency), Policy Development, Data Driven Insights and Decision Making, International Business, Leadership, Management Coaching, Corporate Social Responsibility, Operations Management, Category Management, Risk Management, Supply Chain, Quality Management